


Bad Habits

by ageless_aislynn



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, ReverseSnow, Snowells, Snowellsweek2016, Snowellsweek2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 07:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7304770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ageless_aislynn/pseuds/ageless_aislynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wait, <i>the Reverse Flash</i> hadn't just come to her rescue, had he? For <a href="http://signed-aislynn.livejournal.com/47751.html">Snowells Week 2016</a>, Day 6, prompt: “Thank you for saving me.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was another one that wasn't my first fill for this day but the other prompt insisting on being too long to get finished in time, so I had a look at the others, hoping something shorter would present itself. And, obviously, when I ask my muse for suggestions, she always defaults to ReverseSnow, lol! ;) This stands on its own but also is a prequel to the [Good Day](http://archiveofourown.org/series/491968) series, since this is pretty much what I originally envisioned for their "first meeting" in that 'verse. ;) My intention is to periodically add new chapters to this "prequel" as the muse allows. ;)
> 
> This also has a home at [LJ](http://signed-aislynn.livejournal.com/47751.html) and [Tumblr](http://ageless-aislynn.tumblr.com/post/146482591265/fic-bad-habits-caitlinharrison-the-flash). If you read, I hope you enjoy! ♥

When the man pulled the gun, all Caitlin could think was that they always said junk food could kill you, she just never thought it would be so literally.

One moment, she had been standing in line at the convenience store across town with a pack of powdered sugar doughnuts in hand, then next she was in the middle of a robbery.

The cashier was complying but the robber was twitchy and sweaty and it was a bad sign that he hadn't bothered to conceal his face. Caitlin kept her eyes down, tracking things in her peripheral vision, and steeling herself to have to hand over her purse and all its contents.

Her phone abruptly rang and she noted several things in a sort of clinical detachment: the robber startled, jerking the gun in her direction, and she actually _saw_ him squeeze the trigger. _I'm going to be shot,_ she thought but before she could even close her eyes, wind sent her hair into a riot in her face.

She recognized she was being carried at superspeed a heartbeat before she heard the gunshot from far away. As soon as he stopped and placed her on her feet, she was orientating herself -- an alley maybe two blocks from the store? -- even as she said, "You ought to be able to catch him if you-- _Oh my God_!"

The last came as she realized the suit of the speedster next to her was _not_ the familiar red she'd assumed it would be.

"Expecting someone else, Dr. Snow?" the man in the yellow suit asked mildly, his voice distorted and his features blurred as he vibrated in place.

She practically vaulted backwards. "You? You're the one who...? Why? Why would you help _me_?"

His glowing red eyes narrowed in amusement. "Maybe I was just passing by? Out for a run, let's say, hm? Right place, right time. For you, at least."

"I..." She frowned in confusion, then turned away, walking to the end of the alley and looking towards the direction of the store. "I need to go."

"Back there?" he questioned. "Why?"

"I've got to get--" at the last second, she opted to not say _the Flash_ "--help on the way. Unless you were planning on stopping the robbery while you're in the neighborhood?"

He chuckled. "I've already done my good deed for the day, thanks. I'll leave the heroics to _the hero_."

When she reached for her phone, she realized that she still had a hold of the doughnut package. "Oh, I didn't pay for these!"

He tsked mockingly. "For shame, starting your life of crime with snack food. Who knew you had a secret weakness for junk food? Any other vices or bad habits you'd like to disclose?"

Was he _flirting_? He was practically purring and it plucked an odd chord in her chest. She had to force herself to ignore the _quite mad_ impulse to flirt back. "I'll have you know I eat a very healthy diet 90% of the time," she muttered, fumbling for her phone. "You just happened to catch me in part of the 10%. And I'll pay for these when I go back."

Before he could respond, she quickly dialed CCPD and reported the crime, then called S.T.A.R. Labs, where Cisco answered.

By the time she'd hung up from assuring him that she was okay and that she'd tell him all about it soon, she glanced back, expecting her erstwhile rescuer to be gone. To her surprise, he was leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, simply watching her.

She debated whether or not to say anything, then finally figured she owed him that much. "He'll, ah, be here any time." She didn't say who _he_ was but from his scoff, she knew she hadn't needed to.

"I'm sure he will," he drawled. "Foil the bad guy, have his big hero moment. Too bad he didn't get to rescue the girl, though."

It was a none-too-subtle reminder of something else she hadn't yet said. "Thank you for saving me," she said quietly. "I don't know why you did but... thank you."

He strode towards her in a remarkably unhurried stride. His hand blurred across the doughnut package she held and, in a millisecond, it was open and he plucked a doughnut out of it. "Guess you're not the only one who's picked up some bad habits," he murmured. "See you around, Dr. Snow. Try to avoid getting robbed in the future, hm?"

In a streak of red lightning, he was gone, leaving her to stare after him in mystification. From the opposite direction, she heard the whoosh that signaled Barry's arrival. She took a breath and started walking back, trying to figure out what she was going to say once she got there.

Along the way, she had a strong feeling that she was being watched. Impulsively, she paused to eat one of the doughnuts, quite deliberately licking the powdered sugar off her fingers one at a time.

Vices and bad habits, indeed. Well, that should've answered his question, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It looks like the Reverse Flash is developing a bad habit of his own: coming to Caitlin's rescue... For [Snowells Week 2018](https://snowellsweek.tumblr.com/post/174443496836/snowwells-week-2018-prompts-list), Day 1, prompt: Caitlin's childhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to miss last year’s Snowells Week, so I’m really happy to be able to participate this year! “Bad Habits” is a multi-chaptered prequel to my [Good Day](http://archiveofourown.org/series/491968) series. Reading that isn’t required for this entry nor is chapter 1, but this will probably make more sense if you’ve read that first. I tried not to make it incomprehensible if you haven’t, though. *fingers crossed* ;)
> 
> Also available on [Tumblr](http://ageless-aislynn.tumblr.com/post/175004870830/bad-habits-chapter-2-agelessaislynn-the). If you read, I hope you enjoy! ♥
> 
> PS - Since I wasn't able to add a chapter last year like I'd wanted to, I'm planning two chapters for this Snowells Week. Chapter 3 should be along shortly! *crosses rest of fingers* ;)

The building started to collapse with a deep, ominous rumble. Had Cisco heard her call for help? Was Barry already on his way? 

"Try to take cover under something!" Caitlin yelled to the civilians around her but before she could heed her own advice, debris struck a glancing blow along the side of her head. Everything went black.

***

She came awake in a dizzying wave of nausea. "'M gonna throw up," she said, slurring the warning into one long word.

"Not on my suit, you're not," said the distorted voice of the Reverse Flash. Thankfully, the sickening sensation stopped when he did.

She struggled to open her eyes but her eyelashes were coated with something thick and sticky.

"Don't," he said as she raised a hand to try to clear her vision. "You've cut your head and it's bleeding."

He was carrying her bridal-style against his chest. She **intended** to push away from him but her limbs didn't agree with that idea, twitching without much in the way of coordination. 

"Stop squirming," he said, walking at a much more sedate pace. "I'm getting you to medical attention."

For a moment, she just relaxed into his hold, even though her brain felt like it was quivering in her skull. Then it tardily dawned on her.

"Are you vibrating?"

He gave a suggestive chuckle. "Most women don't complain about that."

An undignified snort escaped her. She blamed it on the head wound and recent shock of having a building fall on her.

The building...

"Oh," she said, stiffening in alarm, "there were about two dozen people in the room with me. You've got to go back and get them out!"

"You're mistaking me for a hero again, Dr. Snow," he said drolly. "You really need to break yourself of that bad habit."

She automatically tried to slide out of his hold so to get her feet on the ground. What she was going to do without even being able to **see** , she wasn't sure. But she wasn't going to just let people die. She'd find a way.

"Hey," he said sharply. "Unless you want to end up on the ground, I'd suggest you stay still."

"But--"

He gave a long-suffering sigh. "Don't worry, _he's_ already on the job clearing the building. Yay for the hero of Central City."

There was more she wanted to say but the next thing she knew, she was waking up in the hospital -- thankfully without blood gumming up her eyelashes this time.

Cisco was asleep in a chair to her left, head back and mouth open, snoring softly. She smiled, even as she raised a hand to find a bandage on her right temple that made her wince when her fingers grazed it.

"How are you feeling?"

Startled, she looked to her right, where Harrison Wells observed her thoughtfully from his wheelchair. For some reason, it took her an extra second to get the words to form. "Dr. Wells, ah, I wasn't expecting you."

The corner of his mouth twitched in one of his patented dry smiles. "You're an important member of the team, Dr. Snow, and you had a building dropped on your head. Where else would I be? So, the answer to my question is...?"

Why was she getting flustered? It **had** to be all of the trauma. "Um, I'm feeling all right, thank you. Better than I could be, for certain."

He nodded. "Good. I'll get back to S.T.A.R. Labs, then. Barry's cleaning up the mess that the Blue Dominator made."

"'S a dumb name," Cisco mumbled without opening his eyes. "That's what happens when the metas name themselves."

Harrison shook his head, raising an eyebrow as he met her eyes in a moment of solidarity, and she inexplicably blushed. His smile widened slightly.

 _I've_ got _to have a concussion,_ she thought as he left, covering her eyes with both palms and leaning back against the thin hospital pillow.

***

A cool hand brushed her forehead and she murmured, "Hm?"

"Everything's fine. I just wanted to see if you could wake up."

The whisper was familiar but her sleepy brain couldn't put a name to it at first. "Hm," she said as a statement this time and tried to descend back to sleep.

"That means you need to actually _wake up_ , Caitlin." The voice was louder this time, with a distinctive distortion.

Even as that processed and recognition dawned, she still only surfaced gradually. Her bedroom was dark, though the light from the front room was on, providing a bit of illumination through the open door.

He was a shape next to her bed, red eyes glowing in the darkness. There were half a dozen easy reasons why she should've been frightened and only a few concerning ones why she wasn't.

But she did wake up. "What are you doing here?" she asked, starting to sit up, only to discover that moving too much made her head throb in sick waves.

"I just told you: to see if you could wake up. It's standard practice when dealing with a concussion patient, though I notice that none of your _comrades_ could be bothered to show up."

He sounded thoroughly annoyed, like he was personally offended by their lack of care.

"I didn't need anybody to stay with me," she said, feeling the need to defend her friends. "It's mild."

"Having a mild concussion is _exactly_ the same thing as having a concussion," he countered. "I'm surprised that you're not aware of that fact, Dr. Snow. Anyway, go back to sleep. You need your rest."

She squinted at him and not only because he was a shadowy blur. "So, you're... planning on staying... all night?"

"Didn't we just cover this? Yes. Now, do you need something for the pain?"

"Why are you doing this? It doesn't make any sense. And how did you get in here, anyway? I know I locked the door."

"Magic," he said flatly. "Speedster magic. Pain meds, yes or no?"

She started to shake her head then quickly realized that was a bad idea. "Um, no pain meds, thanks. So you phased through my door?"

His sigh was barely audible. " _Sleep_ , Caitlin. If you need anything, call."

He disappeared through the door and very faintly, she detected the sound of her TV coming on. The light switched off.

Should she call Barry or Cisco? And tell them what? That **the Reverse Flash** had let himself into her home because he thought she needed somebody to watch over her? The absolute absurdity of the situation made her head swim all on its own.

He hadn't answered her question about why he was doing this. That answer was most certainly important and she was still pondering it when she drifted off to sleep again.

***

He woke her two more times and didn't answer her question either of them. Though, honestly, she **was** a bit out of it, so it was entirely possible he did and she just didn't remember.

***

Her eyes fluttered open in the darkness, her bladder providing its own wake-up call. For a moment, she wondered if he had left. But then there seemed to still be the telltale flicker of light from the other room to indicate her TV was on.

Crawling carefully out of bed, moving slowly not only to be as soundless as possible but because she felt none-too-steady on her feet, she made her way to the door. There, on her couch, was a silhouette stretched out, boot soles hanging over the arm so to not soil the fabric. The TV's illumination ran across the yellow of his suit in a pale imitation of the lightning he could generate. He was still watching over her.

A sudden, sharp memory came to mind, being young and having come down with pneumonia and her mother staying up with her all through the night to give her medicine on a strict schedule so that Caitlin didn't have to be in the hospital.

 _I haven't thought of that in a long time._ It brought a wave of feeling safe and cared for. Of that rare experience of feeling like she was truly loved and cherished by her mother. How odd that the Reverse Flash was the one to remind her of it.

From this angle, she could only see a sliver of the skin not covered by his mask. There was no glow from his eyes and he didn't seem to be vibrating. Was he asleep?

_I could sneak over, maybe be able to recognize him by what I can see of his face..._

The thought crept in temptingly. Like Christine pulling away the Phantom's mask or Psyche lighting a candle to see her beastly husband's face, what would she find? The deformed Erik or the beautiful god of love Eros? Her fingers practically itched to **know**.

She mulled it over for a moment longer, then exhaled a long, slow breath and let it go. Whatever all he was to her: enemy, weird friend, a combination of both, he had saved her life yet **again** and he had showed up to take care of her in the aftermath. He deserved respect for that, if nothing else.

So she went on to the bathroom then, on her way back, stopped at her doorway once more. He didn't seem to have moved, but there was a soft red glow coming from his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Do you need a blanket or anything?"

There was a hint of a smile in his tone. "No, but thank you anyway. I appreciate your... consideration."

 _I believe I just passed a test,_ she thought and said, "Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight, Dr. Snow."

***

He left sometime before she woke in the morning. She found a note in the printer tray -- _Does that mean I'd recognize his handwriting, then?_ \-- which read, "Eat breakfast and take it easy. Central City can exist without one of its heroes for a day. And try not to let anymore buildings fall on you."

For a split-second, she thought it was signed _Eros_ , which would've been disturbing for a number of reasons. The Reverse Flash being a telepath would be an intimidating prospect, indeed. But no, it said _Eo_ , which was equally strange and mysterious but slightly less alarming.

She called S.T.A.R. Labs while she made breakfast. 

After she'd reassured Cisco a few times that she was fine, he said, "Maybe you can help us figure something out. Barry said when cleared the building, you were already gone. How'd you get out?"

She shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "I got knocked out and the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital." There was a middle step that involved a speedster in a yellow suit but she left that out.

Barry said something in the background and Cisco went on, "Yeah, and there were those people outside who said that the Flash had saved them but Barry said that floor was empty when he got there. What do you think that's all about?"

She should've been dismayed at the fact that she was now going to have to outright lie to her best friend. But she thought, _Eo, if you're not careful, you're going to start turning into a hero yourself, aren't you?_ and wasn't able to keep a slight smile from curving her mouth. 

"Sorry, Cisco," was all she said. "I just can't help you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin makes a discovery. For [Snowells Week 2018](https://snowellsweek.tumblr.com/post/174443496836/snowwells-week-2018-prompts-list), Day 2, prompt: "We're not done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel compelled to let you know ahead of time that I opted to split this chapter in half, so we end on a bit of a cliffhanger. ;) Chapter 4 will be arriving ASAP, though! ;)
> 
> Also available on [Tumblr](http://ageless-aislynn.tumblr.com/post/175066499215/bad-habits-chapter-3-agelessaislynn-the). If you read, I hope you enjoy! ♥

Caitlin sighed tiredly, leaning back in her chair and looking around the empty lab. What a long day. Barry had nearly died from the touch of a meta calling herself, appropriately enough, Suffocation. His accelerated metabolism had reacted violently to her power, almost outstripping his ability to heal. 

She'd come up with an antidote just in the nick of time, so all was well that ended well, as the saying went but...

She sighed again and decided to make a cup of coffee. Everyone else had gone home but, for some reason, the idea just didn't appeal to her.

As she retrieved a mug from the cabinet, the distinctive boom of a speedster arriving sounded from some other part of S.T.A.R. Labs. A moment later, there was a crash.

Caitlin quickly put the mug down and hurried to investigate. _Did something go wrong with the antidote? Is Barry in trouble?_

The lab was dark but when she hit the lights as she entered, she discovered the man in the yellow suit down on the floor, a vial and syringe just beyond his outstretched hand.

His breathing was loud and left no question as to what was happening: he had been infected just like Barry had been.

"Hold on," she said, retrieving a fresh syringe and filling it to the proper dosage before kneeling next to him.

He was vibrating in an unsteady manner, the usual red glow of his eyes waxing and waning.

"Does your suit come off like Barry's does?" she asked, feeling along the line of his mask where it joined to the rest of the suit.

He weakly slapped at her hand, managing to turn over and sit up, leaning back against the counter.

"Hey," she said sharply. "Unless you want me to give you this shot _in your face_ , I need a better injection site and I'm not stabbing through the suit like they always do on TV."

His raspy breathing grew noticeably worse in the moments it took for her to speak. He tried to say something but couldn't get the words out. Finally, he just shook his head slightly, ceased trying to vibrate, and triggered some mechanism that Cisco would've given a significant portion of his comic book collection to get his hands on and the suit vanished... somewhere.

She was already reaching for the neck of his black t-shirt, pulling it aside to get access to a suitable place on his shoulder, when she glanced at his face.

Everything stopped.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

Harrison Wells looked back at her. His hair was a mess and he didn't have his glasses -- and then there was the whole fact that he **clearly didn't need a wheelchair** \-- but there was no mistaking the man who'd been her idol for years and whom she'd worked along side for so long now.

"Cait," he said, little more than an exhale, seen more than heard.

"Hey, Caitlin, you still here?"

Cisco's voice made both of them twitch. He wasn't close enough to see through the doorway but was clearly approaching.

She looked back at Harrison. There was a momentary appeal in his eyes, then it faded into resignation. She looked at the syringe she still held, listened to his wheezing breath, noted the blueish tinge appearing at his lips. Of course, the wisest thing to do was alert Cisco so he could help her get the Reverse Flash into a cell before she gave him the shot to save his life.

She took a series of breaths as shaky as if she were the one who'd been infected, then thrust the needle into his flesh and pressed the plunger.

He looked amazed, like he'd been in darkness so long, he'd forgotten what the sun looked like when it crested the horizon.

She quickly stood and disposed of the syringe. Heading out of the room, she paused, looking back at him. "We're not done," she said quietly, pointing at him before closing the door behind herself.

She caught her friend three steps away. "Um, what are you doing here, Cisco? I thought you'd already left."

"I told Barry that you'd end up staying here all night if somebody didn't come back and get you," he said good-naturedly. "You've got a bad habit of not knowing when to just clock out and enjoy life a little. Today was a win, we need to take it."

 _Act natural, act natural,_ she thought, desperately trying to school her face into anything other than " _Guess what? Harrison Wells is the Reverse Flash and oh, hey, he's sprawled on the floor a few feet away right now._ "

Whatever calisthenics her expressions were going through, they made Cisco raise his eyebrows. "Whaaat's going on, Cait?"

"I... Well, you see, I... have a date," she blurted out, then barely resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead. _Now he's going to want details, he'll ask follow-up questions tomorrow on how it went..._

"Okay, so I'll need details," he said, smiling broadly. "And you'd _better_ have, like, a 3 page report, single-spaced, ready for me tomorrow on how it all went."

"Sure thing," she said, nodding as enthusiastically as she could. "I'll get right on that."

She reached out to guide him away from the lab but he abruptly turned and yanked the door open before she could stop him. "Cisco!"

"What?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her as he entered the empty lab. "I'm just going to grab my tablet. I left it in here earlier."

"Uhhhh," she said, looking around as casually as she could. "Nothing, I just was going to say goodnight."

***

Caitlin sat on her couch, blindly staring at the TV without having any clue what she was watching. Her mind spun out in ever-widening circles. Harrison Wells was the Reverse Flash. He was the man in the yellow suit.

He was the man who killed Nora Allen.

She rubbed her temples to try to stave off the headache gathering behind her eyes. In doing so, she felt the barely perceptible scar of where the collapsing building had struck her. _He saved my life,_ she thought. _First during the robbery, then again during the collapse. He saved the other people in there with me. He's changing. He's not who he was before. But..._

Did the lives he saved somehow outweigh the fact that he'd murdered Barry's mom? That he'd killed who knew how many other people? How could she possibly rationalize all of that away?

A soft buzzing noise made her gaze jump to her front door. A hand in a yellow glove phased through, holding a folded piece of paper. She waited, expecting him to walk the rest of the way through, but all he did was let the paper drop, then the hand withdrew. Carefully, she crept over and snatched it up from the floor, like she thought he was just waiting to reach through and grab her, but nothing happened. Moving back a few steps, she opened the paper and read: " _My name is Eobard Thawne. I'm from the future. I've been trapped here for 15 years. My goal has always been to go back home to my own time. If you'll give me the chance, I'll tell you anything you want to know._ "

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until it exhaled in a rush, like she'd been punched in the gut. Moving quietly, she stepped to the door and peered out the peep-hole. The Reverse Flash stood there in all of his yellow-suited infamy, then with a gesture, the suit was gone and it was Harrison Wells smoothing back his hair and straightening his white dress shirt and black tie. He was dressed like "himself," the self she had worked besides for years, just sans his jacket and glasses.

She put her hand on the door knob.

_He saved my life._

_He killed Nora Allen._

She looked down at the note once more, then folded it. Took her hand off the door knob and turned off the TV and light. Then she went into her bedroom and closed the door with a loud, resolute click.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin is finally ready for a little heart-to-heart with the man in the yellow suit... For [Snowells Week 2018](https://snowellsweek.tumblr.com/post/174443496836/snowwells-week-2018-prompts-list), Day 5, prompt "I know you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a few days late because RL has been particularly unkind this week. I honestly almost threw in the towel but I wanted to finish this chapter off if I possibly could. I love these crazy kids, what can I say? ;) So I turned on my "Eobard *hearts* Caitlin" playlist (everybody has one of those, right? ;) ) as loud as I could and just ~went for it.~ ;)
> 
> There will be an epilogue following in a few days. Unless RL decides to sic an army of angry metahumans on me. Or something like that. I'ma try REALLY hard to get the epilogue in here before the "grace period" week closes, though. ;)
> 
> Also available on [Tumblr](http://ageless-aislynn.tumblr.com/post/175267502265/bad-habits-chapter-4-agelessaislynn-the). If you read, I hope you enjoy! ♥

Walking back into S.T.A.R. Labs the next morning as if nothing had gone on had taken a degree of courage that Caitlin hadn't been sure she possessed. But she did it, ready to face the Reverse-Flash-in-Harrison-Wells'-clothing and to... What? Was she going to confront him in front of Barry and Cisco? Was she going to walk around the wheelchair she now knew he didn't need and try to pretend like nothing had happened?

So it was rather anticlimactic when she entered the Cortex and he wasn't there.

"There she is, my girl who's out socializing and everything! Let's hear about that date!"

Cisco came in behind her, grinning broadly.

"Sorry," she said, trying to school her expression. "Turns out it was a no-go."

"You got stood up?" he said, the grin quickly downgrading to a frown. "Give me his name and I'll ruin his credit."

That made her smile, even as she said, "Now, didn't we talk about this before? No credit ruining."

He scoffed. "You're no fun!" Then his tone and demeanor grew more sincere. "Are you okay, though?"

She gave a half-shrug. "Yeah, I wasn't really into him, anyway. I think it's for the best."

He patted her shoulder as he headed over to his computer.

"So," she said, in what was probably the worst attempt at a casual tone ever, "is Dr. Wells already here?"

"Nope," he said, dropping into his chair. "He called earlier, said he's got business out of town. Should be back in a few days, maybe a week."

 _Run, Reverse Flash, run,_ she thought sarcastically. _Well, while he's avoiding confrontation in his life, we'll be here saving Central City from evildoers!_

***

Several hours later, she rested her elbows on her desk and sighed out loud. "I can't believe not even _one_ evildoer showed up today," she muttered.

"Slow day, hm?" Barry said sympathetically. "Might as well head out early then, what do you think?"

The notion of sitting at home, twiddling her thumbs, was about as appealing as watching the proverbial paint dry.

"Sounds great," she said, struggling to sound a proper degree of enthusiastic without going overboard.

***

The next few days were maddeningly similar. Perhaps the most frustrating part was that Harrison called in and spoke with Cisco or Barry a few times, all when she wasn't there. How he managed to time his calls so perfectly, she wasn't sure, but it didn't take long to get on her nerves.

 _I should've talked to him when I had the chance,_ she thought, walking home from the local store with a bag of groceries in hand. _I guess I didn't realize I'd feel--_

A hard strike between her shoulder blades sent her crashing painfully to her knees on the cement. Her grocery bag was yanked partially from her hand before it split and rained her groceries onto the sidewalk.

The distinctive sound of a speedster arriving made the rather vengeful thought of _Now you'll be sorry!_ pop to mind.

"Hey, are you all right?"

She looked up, pushing her hair from her face, and found Barry in his Flash suit looking down at her in concern. He had a tall man restrained with his hands behind his back.

"Yeah," she said, her voice a little shaky. "I'm not hurt."

Barry nodded and sped off with his captive, then returned alone a few seconds later, helping her to stand.

"What happened?" he asked, gathering up her produce at super-speed into the new bag he'd brought to replace the torn one.

"I don't know," she said, taking the bag back when he offered it. "I guess I wasn't paying attention. I didn't realize he was behind me. Thanks."

"Sure. Let me run you home," he said, holding his arms out in an offer to pick her up.

"That's not necessary," she demurred. "It's not far."

"Come on, Cait," he urged. "It's the least I can do. I want to make sure you get home safe."

She finally agreed. He swept her up and deposited her on her doorstep in a matter of moments.

"Thanks," she told him again, giving a final wave before he sped away. She locked the door behind herself and turned--

\--to find Harrison standing not three feet behind her, in his Reverse Flash suit with the mask pushed back.

"Are you okay?" he asked at the same time as she barely managed to crush a shrill scream down to a squeak. Her groceries once again hit the ground.

"How did you get in here?" she finally asked. "No, wait, don't tell me. It was 'speedster magic,' right?"

His only response was to blur away and, in a blink, her bag of groceries was off the floor and presumably put in the kitchen since the light was now on when he returned. "Caitlin, you were mugged. _Are you okay?_ If something would've happened to you, I... I don't know what I would've done."

Anxiety radiated from him in palatable waves. It was so unlike anything she'd ever witnessed from him in either of his guises that, for a moment, all she could do was just **stare** at him.

He stepped closer, leaning down to be more on her level, his hands coming up as if to rest on her shoulders. At the last moment, they paused, hovering uncertainly in mid-air. "Caitlin?"

"I really wasn't mugged," she finally said. "He just knocked me down but Barry got there before he stole anything."

After the fact, she realized she didn't censor the name she normally would have. Harrison waved it away as if she'd said that part aloud.

"I'm glad he was there," he said, surprisingly genuine. "I want you kept safe."

His hands finally turned over, palms up, in a mute request and she placed hers in his before she even thought about it. He sighed, like he hadn't dared to hope for even that much.

"Can we talk?" he asked, just as her coffee maker chimed. "I, um, made coffee. Obviously."

***

It took a little while to get used to sitting at her kitchen table, drinking coffee with a man who looked like the friend and mentor she'd known for years but who talked more like the villain who'd been coming to her rescue for a while now.

"What do you want me to call you?" she asked after she'd tripped over the issue a few times and decided it was better to just ask.

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "'Harrison' or 'Eobard,' either is fine."

Neither felt entirely natural. She just nodded.

They had already covered the worst of his deeds, such as the murders of Nora Allen and the original Harrison Wells: he'd spoke of them in a tone tinged with regret that also indicated he wasn't expecting forgiveness.

He had told her about his grudge against Barry in the future, though had omitted the actual details, had told her how he'd gotten trapped in the past. How every plan he'd come up with to get back to his own time had resulted in failure, then how he'd finally been forced to accept his fate.

There was still so much more to talk about than what could be covered in one night. Caitlin stifled a yawn, noticing the sun peeking around the curtains in her kitchen window.

"You need to get some sleep," he said softly, pushing away from the table. "And I know you've got a lot to think about."

She stood as well, oddly loathe for him to leave as she walked him to the front door. "Are you going to disappear on your 'business trip' again? Or are you coming back to work?"

He paused, looking down at the sleeve of his yellow suit as he straightened it while he spoke. "Do you want me to?"

She took a deep breath, considering her reply. For their entire conversation, she'd been testing out her feelings. Everything he'd told her had given her more of an understanding for his actions but nothing could make those actions acceptable.

She must've paused overly long because he said, "I know you, Caitlin. You're not just going to be okay with all of this."

"No," she agreed. "I'm not. And you could do wonderful, philanthropic things every day for the rest of your life and that won't erase the terrible things you've done."

He nodded, head down. "Yes, I understand if you don't--"

"But," she said, speaking over him, "if you _do_ good things from here on out, it means something to me."

He thought about that for a moment, then said, "You haven't told Barry and Cisco. I'm pretty sure one of them would've mentioned that if you had, anyway. Are you going to?"

"I don't know," she said honestly.

"Fair enough," he said, then spread his hands awkwardly. "Thanks. I... I would like to come back."

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms, tilting her head curiously.

"At the beginning, stopping crime, helping people, it was a means to an end," he admitted. "But somewhere along the way, I guess I fell in love with you -- with all of you."

She felt her cheeks burn even as he corrected himself.

"Once I knew I couldn't go back to my own time again, I knew I'd have to find a way to make a life here. I'm a pretty good criminal myself," he admitted, showing a hint of the roguish attitude she'd come to be familiar with from the man in the yellow suit. "But stopping other criminals became strangely satisfying as well."

"Bad habit," she murmured and he smiled at their shared joke.

"Bad habit," he agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Well, later today, technically."

"Goodbye," she said with a soft, crooked smile.

He pulled his mask on and was gone in a sharp gust of air.

She didn't realize until later that he hadn't actually put up her battered groceries, he'd **replaced** everything with unblemished duplicates.

 _I believe that's cheating,_ she thought and couldn't help but laugh.

***

Caitlin paused outside of the Cortex, hearing Cisco and Barry mock-arguing over some technical minutia, then a familiar voice dryly correcting them both. Her heart pounded as if she'd downed 10 cups of coffee instead of just one. Despite the lack of sleep, she felt wide-awake and buzzed, driven by nervous uncertainty. This was it, this was the moment when she had to truly decide: who was she throwing her lot in with? Did she keep the Reverse Flash's secret or come clean with her friends? Didn't Barry especially deserve to know?

It felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff of infinite height, the bottom of which was concealed in smoke and darkness. She walked into the Cortex, looked at Cisco who was laughing, looked at Barry's innocent face, then looked at the man in the wheelchair she knew he didn't need.

She made her choice.

"Good morning," she said, smiling. "Dr. Wells, it's good to see you. How was your trip?"


End file.
